New York Toy Fair Coverage Part Two: Ninjago

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This year, I was able to go to the New York International Toy Fair for the first time as a representative of the BIONICLE wiki BIONICLEsector01 and its sister site HEROsector01. Together with fellow BS01/HS01 staff member Chols, who took most of the photos, I attended the LEGO Collectors Preview where representatives of LEGO fansites can view and photograph the new sets for an extended two-hour timeframe (our invitations unfortunately did not cover admission to the full three-day Toy Fair event, so externally-produced LEGO products like clocks and watches were not among the things we saw).

Since our sites' normal coverage doesn't extend outside the constraction themes, we reached an agreement with Eurobricks to share with them our coverage of the LEGO Collectors Preview and all the sets and themes on display. Part two of our coverage is Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu, an exciting theme that has become quite popular among a wide range of people. TLG seems to consider Ninjago their "next BIONICLE", giving it an expansive multimedia story, lots of colorful characters, and both gameplay and collectible components to its sets. We are sharing our Ninjago coverage with The Ninjago Wiki, a fledgling resource site for LEGO Ninjago.

This year's Ninjago story is centered around the Serpentine, five legendary tribes of snake people who have been released from their ancient prisons and who now threaten to take over Ninjago. In the midst of this, Sensei Wu's four Ninja (Kai, Zane, Jay, and Cole) are training to unlock their true potential and discover which of them will become the legendary Green Ninja. Just like in 2011, the Ninjago theme includes model sets and spinner sets, but for the first time booster packs (containing all the components of a spinner set but with spinner add-ons substituted for an actual spinner) have been added to the mix.

Naturally, this coverage will include some spoilers. You have been warned.

For the already-released January wave, not including limited release sets, there are seven model sets, three booster packs, and six spinner sets (including a larger training set and starter set).

Kai's Blade Cycle is a transformed version of his Dragon Sword of Fire, which Sensei Wu taught him to unlock. The model itself has a conversion function-- press down on the 2x2 curved slope on the top to make the blades on the sides spread out. Owning this set myself, I can vouch for this function's quality, although it can become jammed if you're not careful with it.

The set includes the Kai ZX (Ninja of Fire) and Rattla (Hypnobrai Scout) minifigures, as well as the Hypnobrai Staff.

Jay's Storm Fighter is the vehicle form of Jay's mystical Nunchucks of Lightning. Its function is just as gorgeous as that of Kai's Blade Cycle-- pressing forward on a switch in the center causes the wings to unfold dramatically, revealing four massive blades.

This set includes the Jay ZX (Ninja of Lightning) minifigure, sans armor, and the Snappa (Fangpyre Scout) minifigure, as well as the Fangpyre Staff.

The Rattlecopter is not my favorite of the Serpentine vehicles, but it's quite stylish in its own way. It has a function for dropping two Sly Vipers (white Fangpyre snakes).

It includes the Kai ZX minifigure, sans armor but with an awesome jetpack, the Lloyd Garmadon (son of Lord Garmadon) minifigure, and the Fang Suei (Fangpyre Soldier) minifigure, plus the Constrictai Staff (this is the only January set with this staff).

Cole's Tread Assault, the vehicle form of his Scythe of Quakes, has not one but two transforming functions: its many flaps can be opened with one swift motion, but additionally the whole model can be flipped upside-down to take on the appearance of a Serpentine vehicle. There is also a Technic shooter on the front.

This set includes the Cole ZX (Ninja of Earth) and Skales (Hypnobrai General) minifigures, as well as the Hypnobrai Staff and a weapon resembling the Scythe of Quakes (but officially the Staff of Light, a Serpentine weapon).

The Fangpyre Truck Ambush set includes a massive Fangpyre monster truck equipped with bouncy suspension, as well as the snowmobile Zane creates from his Shurikens of Ice. Personally, I was quite disappointed to learn that Zane's snowmobile has no conversion function, unlike the other three elemental vehicles.

This set includes the Jay ZX, Zane ZX, Fangtom (Fangpyre General), and Fangdam (Fangpyre Warrior) minifigures, as well as the Fangpyre Staff and the Shurikens of Ice.

The Destiny's Bounty is the new headquarters of Sensei Wu and his Ninja. Not only is it a seaworthy vessel on its own, but it can convert to flight mode by raising the sails with a switch on the mast and rotating the engines with a switch on the stern. It also has a winch to lower the anchor, a cannon, and hidden compartments that hide two golden knives and three diamonds. It's definitely the flagship set for the January wave, and the set with the most appeal for those who prefer the traditional Japanese architecture and mysticism of Ninjago to its high-tech vehicles.

This set includes the Sensei Wu, Lord Garmadon, Kendo Jay, Kendo Zane, Skales, and Slithraa (Hypnobrai Soldier) minifigures. This is the only January set with Sensei Wu and Lord Garmadon, who both differ from their 2011 depictions. Lord Garmadon now has a different helmet and four arms, while Sensei Wu simply has a differently-printed costume.

Like all the booster packs (besides the promotional Kendo Jay booster pack), this features a minifigure, three weapons for the figure to hold, three weapons to attach to the Technic holes on the bottom of the new 2012 spinners, a few brickbuilt structures to attach to the top and bottom of the spinner, a character card, and four battle cards.

This booster pack's contents are very similar to the Kendo Cole booster pack's contents. Some official pics of the set show an orange piece to attach inside a spinner and boost the short-legged Lloyd Garmadon figure up to a more imposing height, but neither the copy of the set my younger brother bought nor the copy on display at Toy Fair included this booster piece. The set's accessories include a Golden Viper (warm gold snake)

The Jay ZX set also has a similar range of contents to the Kendo Cole booster pack, including a golden chainsaw blade and three fairly exclusive Technic blades for attaching to the underside of the spinner. One charming aspect of these Technic blades is that there is bar 3.2mm in diameter along one of the edges, so a minifigure hand can actually clip to them and hold them as weapons.

The Training Set's design is curious. A large brickbuilt snake stands between a Serpentine-inspired wall and a Ninja-inspired wall. A weapon rack is attached to either wall. Weapons can be loaded into the wall, and if a spinner hits the tail of the snake, which sticks out into the arena area, one side or the other will drop the weapon loaded inside.

The Training Set includes Kendo Kai on a new spinner, as well as a character card and four battle cards. The 2012 spinners differ from the 2011 spinners in that they feature three Technic holes on the underside for attaching weapons and hollow studs rather than solid studs on the top surface. 2012 spinner sets also include decorated "crowns" that serve to shield your minifigure from opponents' weapons and potentially snare up their weapons to knock them off their spinners.

Lasha (Venomari Scout) serves as an example of a basic 2012 spinner set: a minifigure, a character card, four battle cards, a spinner, a crown, three weapons (including one golden weapon, which is needed to play certain cards), and some basic bricks and plates for building onto your spinner as directed by certain battle cards. The crowns for the Serpentine spinners have a snake motif rather than the sleek pointed design of the Ninja crowns.

From my experience the integration between the actual play and building of the spinner sets and the strategy-based gameplay of the cards is much better than previous "trading card games" LEGO has attempted to make, such as those in the Orient Expedition and Knights' Kingdom II themes. This is a game that would not work nearly as well if it weren't LEGO.

Kendo Zane's spinner set follows the same pattern mentioned above with its contents. All four Kendo Ninja have identical helmets and armor, and their costumes underneath the armor are the same as their standard costumes from the 2011 sets. Thus, it's easy for minifigure collectors to assemble all four Kendo Ninja without needing one of each-- even duplicates can move you closer to a full collection.

Another generic spinner set. The Snappa set doesn't have anything that jumps out at me as all that special, unless you are interested in the spinner, crown, or cards. His weapons are fairly mundane and the minifigure is available in Jay's Storm Fighter. However, I'll use this space to mention that this year's spinner sets no longer use Chinese-made parts for the minifigures, so minifigure collectors needn't worry about that (though I still wouldn't recommend buying spinner sets for the figures alone because of their high prices).

This is the only January set to include the Samurai X figure. It should be obvious to most Ninjago fans who Samurai X is, but to anyone else interested, Samurai X is Nya, last year's heroine, disguised as a Samurai. One side of her face is identical to Nya's 2011 standard expression, while the other side lacks makeup and has an angry expression with clenched teeth (in place of the 2011 figure's alternate face with a veil covering the mouth). Her torso and spinner feature Nya's stylish phoenix emblem. The torso and leg printing are top-notch, with the torso lending her a feminine figure underneath her titanium metallic (pearl dark gray) Samurai armor).

Samurai X's new helmet design allows for visors to be attached, like this version's mask. However, the connection points that used to allow for feathers and the like on the old Samurai helmet are no longer present.

The Starter Set, like last year's, is basically a "double spinner set". Everything, including both the contents and the price, is doubled. It should be noted that this set also includes an arena, and that this year all "arena sets" (including the Training Set mentioned above and the limited-release Spinner Battle Arena which was not on display at Toy Fair) use the same compatible arena design. For those wanting the full gameplay experience, the Ninjago site has a printable arena mat that shows where battle cards are played, where you spin from, etc. But I'm sure many AFOLs who care about the spinner game would prefer to improvise!

This set's minifigures include Cole ZX and Rattla. It also features some nice accessories including a Hypno Viper (earth blue Hypnobrai snake).

In March, two spinner sets are due to be released. My pictures of these two didn't really turn out very presentable, so forgive the lack of images:

9561 Kai ZX

16 pieces

USD 9.99

CAD 12.99

The Kai ZX spinner set has a bright yellow and silver metallic (flat silver) spinner, a titanium metallic (pearl dark gray) crown, and the Kai ZX figure. The most interesting weapon in this set is the Dragon Sword of Fire, also appearing in last year's 2254 Mountain Shrine and 2507 Fire Temple, as well as this year's 9456 Spinner Battle Arena (limited release; not displayed at Toy Fair) and 9449 Ultra Sonic Raider.

9567 Fang-Suei

19 pieces

USD 9.99

CAD 12.99

The Fang Suei spinner set has a bright red and titanium metallic spinner, a bright yellow crown, and the Fang-Suei minifigure. It also includes a Golden Viper (warm gold snake), much like the Lloyd Garmadon booster pack.

There are two booster packs, four spinner sets, and a "Tool Pack" due for release in June:

9554 Zane ZX

37 pieces

USD 4.99

CAD 6.99

Following the established format for booster packs, the Zane ZX booster pack includes the Zane ZX minifigure with a golden weapon that screams overkill, as well as a stylish silver weapon and a mundane reddish-brown staff to balance things out. The set also introduces a new weapon for attaching to the underside of the spinners. This time it's a Kunai, and yes, it can be wielded as a traditional weapon by a minifigure! Other bricks are included as a barricade on top of a spinner or a boost platform underneath, presumably to be added as instructed by one of the cards.

9555 Mezmo

32 pieces

USD 4.99

CAD 6.99

This is the only set to include Mezmo (Hypnobrai Warrior). It also features a new weapon for the underside of the spinners, this time a snake poised to strike. I imagine these would look excellent hanging from a jungle canopy in a MOC. Mezmo's golden weapon is a nice design with some nice pieces, as is his silver chain weapon, although there's also a generic pickaxe. The scythe blade seen in this picture is not a part of the set.

9569 Spitta

20 pieces

USD 9.99

CAD 12.99

This spinner set includes the minifigure Spitta (Venomari Soldier), who doesn't make a second appearance until one of the August model sets. Other interesting contents include a transparent bright bluish-violet (trans-purple) crown (a new design with studs) and a snake in the same color. The spinner itself is transparent fluorescent green (trans-neon green) and silver metallic (flat silver).

9570 NRG Jay

20 pieces

USD 9.99

CAD 12.99

The NRG Ninja are special forms of the Ninja when they convert themselves into pure Spinjitzu energy. Based on what's been seen in the show so far, it would seem the Ninja will be able to unlock these forms once they clear the barriers in their hearts and unlock their true potential. NRG Jay, who appears exclusively in this set, has a stylish lightning motif and feels very energized. This spinner set includes a new crown with a serrated edge, but MOCists may be most interested by the presence of a warm gold Lightsaber hilt.

9571 Fangdam

20 pieces

USD 9.99

CAD 12.99

Fangdam, who previously appeared in the model set 9445 Fangpyre Truck Ambush, makes for a somewhat mundane spinner set. He features one of the new snake crowns in transparent red, as well as a Sly Viper, but overall his spinner set lacks the uniqueness of some of the others in this wave.

9572 NRG Cole

20 pieces

USD 9.99

CAD 12.99

NRG Cole appears exclusively in this spinner set, and his design is definitely breathtaking. His warm gold spinner crown and transparent brown (trans-black) spinner are very stylish in design, as is the figure himself with his rock fissure motif and glowing gold eyes. Like NRG Jay, one of his weapons also features a warm gold Lightsaber hilt.

9591 Tool Pack

73 pieces

USD 19.99

CAD 24.99

This set is priced similarly to the Starter Set and the Training Set, but includes contents roughly equal to two booster packs and two spinner sets. Spinners and other contents are included for the two minifigures Chokun (Constrictai Soldier) and NRG Kai.

For Chokun, there are five weapons including a transparent bright orange (trans-orange) snake and a golden flail. Additionally there are transparent bright orange snakes to attach underneath the spinner and a transparent bright orange crown to attach on top.

For NRG Kai, the five weapons include a golden weapon built with two warm gold lightsaber hilts (making this a better value for MOCists wanting to accumulate these). There are also three titanium metallic kunai (darker in color than those in the Zane ZX booster pack) for underneath the spinner and a titanium metallic spinner crown in the serrated variety.

Coming in August are the four model sets for the second half of 2012:

9447 Lasha's Bite Cycle

250 pieces

USD 24.99

CAD 29.99

This set is IMO one of the weaker of the Serpentine vehicles, with a somewhat scattered color scheme and an overall lack of streamlining anywhere but the snake face on the front. In addition to the bike itself, there is a small blacksmith shop (really just an anvil, some hot coals, and a column that holds several weapons). After last year's 2508 Blacksmith Shop, this feels quite underwhelming, although if the bike were more impressive on its own then it would be more tolerable.

The set includes the Cole ZX and Lasha minifigures, as well as the Venomari Fang Blade (here shown clipped to the bike)

9448 Samurai Mech

452 pieces

USD 39.99

CAD 49.99

Samurai X's distinctive mech is just as impressive in set form as it is in the Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu TV series. It features a firing cannon on one shoulder and a laser on the other. The two comically-short Constrictai Serpentine in this set combat it with a catapult, using each other as the ammunition.

Thi set includes the Samurai X, Bytar (Constrictai Warrior), and Snike (Constrictai Scout) minifigures, as well as the Constrictai Fang Blade. Snike is exclusive to this set.

9449 Ultra Sonic Raider

622 pieces

USD 79.99

CAD 99.99

The Ultra Sonic Raider is the largest of the Ninja vehicles and one of the most imposing. According to the set description, its main function is to play music that harms the Serpentine from its powerful speaker cannons (followers of the TV series will recognize this as the same function performed by Sensei Wu's ancient flute). But two ammo belts full of golden sai certainly help as well! One special function of this set is that the top section can detach into a flying vehicle, with the blades on the back spreading out to act as wings. Flick-fire missiles are also a must. The flames seen behind some of this set's minifigures are supposed to be attached inside the spinner crowns on the sides of the vehicle

This set includes all four ZX Ninja with all four Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu, as well as Spitta and the Fangpyre Fang Blade. It is also to the only set to include the fearsome Pythor (Anacondrai General).

9450 Epic Dragon Battle

915 pieces

USD 119.99

CAD 129.99

This is it: the flagship set of the 2012 Ninjago lineup. In it, the Green Ninja faces the legendary Great Devourer with the help of his new four-headed Ultra Dragon, which appears to be a fusion of the four dragons in the 2011 sets. The Ultra Dragon's main function is very impressive, with the wings spreading out when it is lifted by a handle on the back. It also has a lashing tail like the Earth Dragon from last year's 2509 Earth Dragon Defense. Two of its heads include sphere launchers.

In contrast, I find the Great Devourer's function a bit underwhelming. It's mouth is big enough to gobble up one minifigure, and its tail is posable, but that's about the limit of its function. It is, however, a very attractive design, holding its head upright as it does. As far as giant brick-built snakes go, it's one of the most attractive I've seen.

Also in this set is the most impressive architectural feature in this year's lineup, a prison used by the Serpentine. Its prison door flips open vertically and it has some nice stylistic elements like the two Golden Vipers and Scala dish used as architectural detail. But it still pales in comparison to the grandeur of last year's Fire Temple.

The set includes Lloyd ZX (Green Ninja), Jay ZX, Sensei Wu, Lord Garmadon, Acidicus (Venomari General), Skalidor (Constrictai General), and Chokun. Acidicus and Skalidor are exclusive to this set. Also included is the Hypnobrai Fang Blade and all four Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu.

A September release is planned for the remaining sets on display at Toy Fair: two more booster packs, three more spinner sets.

9556 Bytar

25 pieces

USD 4.99

CAD 6.99

Bytar's booster pack has contents mostly identical to January's 9551 Kendo Cole. The minifigure, weapons, and cards are the main things that differ, along with some parts' colors. I imagine this probably means he has the same build card, Rock Force, as is included in the Kendo Cole booster pack. Since the Constrictai cards are Earth-aligned, it wouldn't surprise me one bit. His accessories include a Golden Viper, a nifty staff, and the scythe blade that was pictured next to Mezmo earlier.

9557 Lizaru

25 pieces

USD 4.99

CAD 6.99

This is the only set to include a minifigure of Lizaru (Venomari Warrior). Other notable contents include a golden double-bladed axe and two transparent fluorescent green snakes for underneath the spinner.

9573 Slithraa

20 pieces

USD 9.99

CAD 12.99

Slithraa's spinner set has three equally-interesting weapons: a sai on a chain, a transparent blue (trans-dark blue) snake, and the Hypnobrai Staff. The reason this set is alone among the spinner sets in including a golden snake staff is probably that Slithraa was at one time the Hypnobrai general, as watchers of the TV series should know. The transparent blue crown looks very nice on this set's transparent fluorescent blue (trans-medium blue) spinner.

9574 Lloyd ZX

23 pieces

USD 9.99

CAD 12.99

For some reason, the Green Ninja is here depicted without his titanium metallic shoulder armor. Chances are this is just an accidental omission, as the preliminary packaging and Toy Fair press guide both show him with it. The set's most interesting contents other than the Lloyd ZX minifigure are the transparent green spinner crown (printed with patterns inspired by all four elements) and his moderately impressive golden weapon.

9590 NRG Zane

23 pieces

USD 9.99

CAD 12.99

Unusually, NRG Zane includes two golden weapons. One of these, a single golden knife, is without a doubt merely an inescapable side effect of the fact that these knives always come in twos. His transparent fluorescent blue spinner goes well with his transparent spinner crown, although it's interesting that he varies from the other NRG Ninja spinners in having a transparent rather than metallic spinner crown. That's not the only way he varies from the others: NRG Zane's outfit has changed from white to light royal blue (bright light blue), while the others' outfits have stayed the same base color.

This concludes our LEGO Ninjago coverage! In part three, we'll be covering the exciting new theme Monster Fighters!

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The USR is my favorite ninjago set ever. Is Pythor's mouth eternally stuck in that position? It makes him look ferocious, but I kind of wish he'd just have a smirk then look like he's screaming his lungs out all day...

Added together, that's Over 9000! $429.89! Even if I took off the booster packs, the Fangpyre Truck Ambush, and the Samurai Mech, it's still at $329.93! That spells doom for any other themes this year.

Added together, that's Over 9000! $429.89! Even if I took off the booster packs, the Fangpyre Truck Ambush, and the Samurai Mech, it's still at $329.93! That spells doom for any other themes this year.

I'm planning to hold off on most of my purchases until Brickfair, so that I can get the 30% LEGO store discount associated with it. That'll take a lot of the bite out of it.

But I still have another issue, which is that my little brother now wants many of the sets I do. In fact, he's already gotten some, like Lloyd Garmadon and Lasha, that would get me some of the figs without taking too large a bite out of my wallet. It's frustrating, because he seems to think that because I got most of the big Ninjago sets from last year (when he wasn't even interested in the theme yet), he's entitled to sets like the Ultra Sonic Raider and Epic Dragon Battle this year. He's certainly not planning on letting me get the sets I want guilt-free.